Lessons from Literature

We are reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury in my junior English class.  It is funny some of the reactions the students are having.  One student told the class the other day, you're in the book....you just don't know that you are in the book.  It's very odd the amount of insight Bradbury had as far as technology and how our culture would be in the "future;"  one part of the text caught my attention today in particular...it read:

"It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching...."

Any relationship, any job you have, any aspect of your life...comes down to this....did you leave a mark...did people notice you were there...was your fingerprint left - reflections of Christ...that's what it all comes down to.

First day of school

Here is the annual pic of the first day of school.  The boys say do we really have to do this...you took one last year...I know, but smile anyway.  Just thinking about what this photo will look like when B is a senior makes me teary :/ To say that we have had a lifestyle change would be an understatement.  For those who may not know, David and I are no longer coaching.  We have bought half of an insurance agency and he got liscensed this summer and is now an insurance agent in Daingerfield.  I am still teaching, but not at Diana. This year at Diana would have meant coaching 4 sports and teaching 6 classes.  The kids said a few things last year that really got to me and David and we re-evaluated what kind of legacy we were leaving our own kiddos.  The things they learn that are important now will carry over into their families and their children.  We were blessed with 3 precious babies and we did not for one minute have them think that other kids were more important than them.  We wanted them to know our laughs, to have the skills to play sports or the love of sports that we have because WE taught it to them.  So that meant me teaching only and them moving schools.  This first day photo is important.  It was before we had new friends, before we came home and said we hated it bc no one talked to us all day and it was before we had new friends calling us.  As a mom, you worry and you hope that the first day will be amazing that all the kids will see how awesome your kid is and want to be their friend. It didn't quite work out that way....HOWEVER - it is better now.  K hit it off immediately...everyone is my friend, etc.  R was hesitant at first but now she says first day was great...B had a tough time.  It must be an oldest thing (I remember my oldest sister being mad for YEARS bc we moved when she was going into the 10th grade).  This is not a habit we hope to continue.  We like Chapel Hill.  It has the atmosphere of a Christian school but its not.  God is present.  The energy is positive and caring. They offer advanced courses in the 7th grade and expect soo much out of the kids and the teachers. My kids will be challenged as will I as a professional.  Which is all good.  Will I miss not being called coach...sure....will  I miss seeing those familiar boys and girls faces from Diana...sure.... but I know deep in my heart this is the best thing for us...as a family.  Leaving a legacy of your kids are EVERYTHING! Raising them is EVERYTHING.  Being home to do homework and not in a gym or on a bus and cooking dinner instead of eating concession stand food and listening to them read and not someone else is EVERYTHING!  The time we have with them is pricelss, once its gone we can't get it back.
Please don't get me wrong, I would not change the fact that we've coached for anything.  We have made some lifelong friends with our athletes.  We love them like they were our own kids. But at this stage in our life, this is what matters....more than the game of basektball.

Day 2

Day 2 was much better - we made friends, people talked to us, etc, etc.  My boys are shocked that the kids here don't know who Michael Jordan is....the are HUGE fans....Rielyn doesn't think all the boys are stupid anymore so its progress.  My day is still long and I am completely pooped when i get home...Fell asleep yesterday filling out paperwork for the kiddos with my head on the table.  David is working late getting ready for renewal season....I can handle 2-3 months of late nights as opposed to 9 months of it...so a fair trade off I guess.    SO READY FOR COOLER WEATHER!

First Day of School

Photos will come later....promise...just haven't had time to upload them.  They were so excited for school to start...for the most part. Keldyn said on Saturday....I love school! At that point I thought he had been abducted by aliens but he hadn't ... it was really him :)  We had an ok first day....one loved it...the other said all the boys in her class were stupid and one was ready to pretend like he was dead today so that he wouldn't have to go.  Praying today was better for them.  My day was LONG....I have 5 classes before lunch and then 2 after, so my morning is jam packed and the afternoon goes by fast, so I guess that's good.  We were all pooped though.  David brought home pizza for dinner so that made the unhappy campers a bit more cheerful. Found a quote today that I liked....Success can be defined by 3 words... AND THEN SOME.  Really felt like this applies to multiple aspects of my life, as a Christian, as a mom, as a wife, as a teacher, etc.  Do you give the AND THEN SOME??  Sometimes its the bare minimum...gunna try to be an  AND THEN SOME kinda girl!

Update #3

Movie Night - this is how she spent over 1/2 of the movie and the car ride home....guess we all need a good rest every once in a while.

Water gun war - playing around with a nurf water gun and this is what happens.  The kids were swimming/playing at the neighbors house and our neighbor and Bryson came running back to the house with this....NO FEAR though - we butterflied him right up...no ER for us :)

Spider man bit the dust after this....He was a Christmas or birthday gift from Aunt Meredith several years ago, I am surprised he has lasted this long....they had a blast though while he did.....LOVE the expressions on their faces and their body language!

Is she sassy or what????  There are days when I think who's kid is this??? But then I am reminded....she's mine.  I know exactly where she gets it from...me...my deep secret....I love fashion....that is probably my secret dream job.....I know I know....stop laughing already becasue you'd never know by the way I dress that I like fashion....but I do...so that's where she gets it

Lead Me

LOVE the song "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real....the part especially has hit me close to home how that the kids deserve the best of my life.  There are parts of me that want to scream at some parents "ITS NOT ABOUT YOU RIGHT NOW!"  So, just a reminder to myself - more than to anyone that actually reads my blog :o) - Give your kids the best of your life while you have them - they won't live with you forever - hopefully - and you can NEVER get the time back! If you have been blessed to have children - take care of them - its the greatest gift God can give you! Listen to the song if you haven't ever heard it.  Have a great Friday!

Update #2

This year David celebrated his birthday in Austin at the state track meet.  So, when he got home we had to celebrate it properly.  And when I say celebrate in Austin, that means he went to Cabella's.  We had strawberry cheesecake and the kids were super excited to sing to him!

This is some of Rielyns artwork.  The one in the middle looks like a potato to me, but apparently it is a toad...We have a cat, a dog, a frog and a potato...i mean toad.:)

Hawaiian day at school

First swim of the summer! It is a chore to get her to take good pictures.  I think she has learned from Keldyn how to be silly for the camera.  When he was 5 it was nearly impossible to get a good picture from him. 

This is a good one....what you don't know is that its one out of about 10 that I had to take...bc the child mentioned earlier would not cooperate!

Swimming with some cousins.  Two of Tiff's kiddos swam with us one day.  That have so much fun together.